Senior Research Associate in Applied Health Research (Supporting Outlier Surgeons)

The role

This post offers an exciting opportunity for a skilled health services researcher to join the Bristol Medical School, as part of the Musculoskeletal Research Unit, working within a committed multidisciplinary team, delivering high-quality impactful outputs in the field of musculoskeletal and orthopaedic research. The postholder will be working on a project that aims to understand how orthopaedic surgeons become performance outliers, and the effect this has on their professional practice and wellbeing, and to develop an intervention to support surgeons to improve their practice. The postholder will be expected to deliver high quality and rigorous research that will have a positive impact on surgical practice and patient outcomes.

What will you be doing?

The post holder will be responsible for carrying out a National Survey of surgeons who are performance outliers to identify professional and behavioural characteristics associated with surgeons whose outcomes improved, remained unchanged, or worsened after being identified as outliers. They will also undertake qualitative interviews to understand surgeons’ views on the causes and consequences of outlier status, and its impact on professional practice and wellbeing. Finally, they will help to co-develop an intervention to support surgeon outliers, including leading a Delphi consensus study to agree intervention components.

You should apply if

Candidates should have a PhD in a discipline relevant to health services research (examples include sociology, psychology, nursing, applied health research). The role is 80% FTE from November 2025 for 30 months. Applicants are kindly requested to review the person specification on the job description before applying.

Additional information

Contract type: Open ended with fixed term funding for 30 months

Work pattern: Part time

Grade: J

Salary: £42,882 - £48,149 per annum (pro rata)

School/Unit: Bristol Medical School

Shift pattern: 80% FTE (28 hours per week)

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on 23/07/2025

For any informal queries please contact Andrew Moore: [email protected]

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